" She was crying hard, having trouble speaking."NO!" It was almost a scream. I took some deep breaths, calming down."Sorry, CeCe, I didn't mean to sho...t. But you don't know her anymore. She's much more fragile now. The last few years have been rough on her, she's just these last few months been acting normal again. I forbid you to upset her. Are you still in town? Good, I'll clear my schedule for the rest of the day. Meet me for lunch, you choose where, and I'll fill you in on our lives since. She sat on the seat cover and breathed her way back to self-possession. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy his attempts at control. Hell, the reverse … but it was all too skewed. He’d seen to that. There was no fixing it, was there? Was there? Unless …Fight fire with fire. Her heart pounded to the phrase. But how? She knew, vaguely. It had occurred to her enough times when he had her tied up the day before. But the detail … What could she use? What would she need? And did she even have the nerve. Kyle swivelled his eyes to the man and looked at him hard. “Because unlike you sir, she knows that I would know if she tried to lie to me. Tell me one truth and one lie, sir,” Kyle said.“We don’t want your help. We don’t acknowledge wizards as our rulers,” the man spat out.Kyle looked around the room and then started walking around it. He listened to the thoughts being tossed around. There was fear in the room, but also excitement and even hope.“Two half-truths. If you had had said ‘I’, they. Istarted to worry for a moment before she had smiled and told me that shewouldn't have it any other way. But I was very happy that she was alsowilling to get to know my friends."Come on inside," Julia continued. "Avalon has a dress for you that Ithink you are going to love."I smiled at her words, and I nodded. I followed her to the door, wavingat a few fans while I did. The inside of the shop was a mix between ahigh end boutique and some of the clothes shops that Emily and I oftenshopped at. I.